Metering and feeding mechanism for dry materials



7 2 snet s-sheek 1 E. E. HARPER Filed April 13, 1940 METERING ANDFEEDING MECHANISM FOR DRY'MATERIALS Dec. 15, 1942.

II as INVENPI'OR: LE Harper,- BY

TIL-3* ATTORNEY ll llllll ll||.|.l lllllll ll-Illllllllkll-Hlllll IllllIll-lull -l Dec. 15, 1942. HARPER 2,305,350

METERING AND FEEDING MECHANISM FORDRY MATERIALS Filed AprillS, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet 2 a "He p U. A wn m k Kmw wim Pull. i J {-1 l 5 my u 1 h1mm M i -m -v llll II //l\ mm 0% m mm N N.

a w mm m m E Y Y B *5 m Qmakj Q Patented Dec. 1 5, 1942 UNITED STATE s-PATENT OFFICE METERING AND FEEDING MECHANISM FOR DRY MATERIALS Elmer E.Harper, Kansas City, Mo.

Application April 13, 1940, Serial No. 329,469

' 11 Claims.

effectively feeding materials of the character stated and includingmaterials having fluffy characteristics, such as kiesel'guhr and thelike.

Accordingly, I have devised improved apparatus comprising astorage orsupply compartment for the dry material and having an outlet passagewith which is associated the improved metering and feeding applianceinto which the material settles by gravity, and in which the operationof the feeding appliance imparts a feeding motion adapted to effectproper settling of the material into a mass of uniform density, as wellas an even and uniform rate of delivery or discharge of the materialfrom the appliance.

One method of accomplishing this result, as

tially equal amounts or discharge increments of a uniform, homogeneouscharacter. r The method of mounting and operating th feeding applianceis furthermore designed not only to effect proper agitation of thematerial within the appliance itself, but also to cooperate withappropriate agitating means within the supply compartment in maintainingan ,agitated state of the material throughout the discharge views of thefeeding unit or assembly, represent- .ing sections, taken on the lines33 and 4-4,

respectively, of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a detail' sectional view of said feeding unit or assembly,representing a section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

. Figure 6 'is an enlarged sectional detail view,

showing the fulcrum arrangement of one of the oscillatory plates of thefeed mechanism;

Figure 7 is an enlarged plan view of the adjusting means for the driveconnection to the feeding mechanisms;

Figure 8 is a side view thereof, with a portion of the main oscillatingdriv member partly broken away; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional detail view of a portion of thefeeding device, representing the path or flow of material in the feedingaction. Among the materials which are required to be fed in a measuredeven flow, in material feeding operations for which the presentimprovements are designed, are such materialsas carbon, hy-

drated lime, kieselguhr, etc., which possess more or less fiuffycharacteristics, and hence have clinging properties that render itdifilcult to produce anything like a flowing consistency of thematerial. Accordingly, it proves necessary not only to maintain aneffective stirring or agitating action throughout the discharge zone ofthe material, but also a dividing or separating treatment of the mass atthe discharge points, to the fiow thereof from points well within thesaid compartment and on down to the final points of discharge.

Other features of improvement and advantage will be found tocharacterize the improved machine, as referred to hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation showin a complete apparatus embodyingfeeding means constructed in accordance-with the invention, a portion ofthe cabinet being broken away to disclose the interior mechanism Figure2 is an end elevation Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged detail sectional ofthe apparatus,

also having a part of the cabinet broken away; 5

end of producing discharge increments at a uniform and even rate, foreffecting as nearly as possible a uniform rate of discharg forthepurpose in view. Having these objects in mind I have devisedapparatus especially well adapted for eificient operation in the feedingof materials presenting these difiiculties, as well as other morefreely-flowing granular materials.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and more particularly to Figures 1and 2,.these' illustrate the apparatus as adapted to be enclosed withina suitable cabinet structure l2, including a door it affording access toa compartment I5 enclosing the improved feeding mechanism, and also adoor ii to a smaller compartment l8 for the drive assembly and adjustingmeans therefor.

In the base of the compartment l5 are located the usual mixing chamber20 and its connections,

such as the outlet 2| and water feed pipe 22 for the mixing jets orsprays.

Above the mixing chamber, or in the upper portion of the compartment I5,i located a trough-shaped hopper 24 for receiving a supply 'ofthe'material to be fed into the mixing chama stant agitation of thematerial within the hopper and also to urge said material from both endsand toward the middle of the hopper (see Figure 1) where an opening 32(Figure 4) is provided in the bottom of the hopper for passage of thematerial into the improved feeding device, now to be described.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 3, 4 and 5, the; feedingmechanism comprises what may be termed a spout assembly operating inconjunction with a horizontally fixed, but adjustable plate or tray 33,in position for intercepting and temporarily supporting the materialafter passing through said spout assembly.

This assembly is made up of a plate 34 suitably secured, as by bolts 35,to the base of the hopper 24, and having an opening 32' registering withthe hopper outlet 32 (Figures 4 and The bottom face of this plate 34 isformed with sets of lugs 36 for mounting pins 31 for pivotallysuspending a set of parallel-motion links 38, the lower ends of whichare pivotally connected with the ends of rods 48 (Figure 5) extendingthrough lugs 42 upon the outer faces of a pair of oscillating plates 43and also through a pair of vertical plates 44 engaging the side edges ofthe plates 43, and forming therewith a spout or feed passage 45 betweenthe opening 32 and the plate 33. Spacing collars 46 and coil springs 41are interposed between the links 38 and plates 44 for maintaining thelatter in continuous engagement with the sides of the plates 43 (seeFigure 5).

The upper edges of the plates 43 are beveled, as indicated at 48, toprovide knife-edge bearings within suitable grooves 48' (see Figure 6)at opposite sides of the opening 32'; and coil springs 43 may also beprovided, connecting the pins 31 and the ends of the rods 40, withsuilicient play allowed between the latter and the links 38 to maintaincontinuous fulcruming engagement of the upper edges of the plates 43.within the grooves 48. I

The plates 43 are shaped to produce a throat Obviously by adjustment ofthe lever 52 the plate or tray member 33 may be set at differentelevations with relation to the lower end of the spout assembly, forvarying the outlet space beneath the lower edges of the plates 43 andthus varying the rate of feed of the material. In order, however, tomaintain the sides of the spout passage closed, an automaticallyadjustable shoe is provided, comprising side plates 81 supported on theupper face of the plate 33 and connected by'a cross-bar 68 fitting invertical slots 10 in the lower edges of the plates 44; in addition,theplates 61 are also provided with pins 12. which slidingly engage thefront and rear edges of said plates 44, whereby the plates 61 areslidingly actuated by the movement of the spout assembly While restingupon the upper face of the plate 33.

Oscillating motion is imparted to the spout assembly by means of aconnecting rod I5 pivoted to a lug 16 on the outer face of one of theplates 43 (Figure 4) and also pivotally connected with one end of acrank arm ll which is attached to a transverse shaft I8 (Figures 1 and2). This shaft is journalled in bearings 80 and carries another crankarm 82 (in the compartment l8) to which arm 82 is connected a link 84adapted to make adjustable operating connection with a rocker frame 85which is axially mounted on one end of the agitator shaft 21.

The rocker frame 85 is oscillated by a drive consisting of a connectingrod 81 actuated from a speed changer unit 88, which in turn is drivenfrom a suitable motor 89 from which a belt 88 is trained over a pulley92 to drive the unit 88.

The rocker member 85 carries a pawl 84 for engaging a ratchet wheel 95secured to the shaft 21, whereby the latter is intermittently actuatedfor operating said shaft and the agitating means within the hopperchamber 24. This rocker member is also provided with an arcuate slot 88which is suitably graduated, as indicated in Figures 2 and 8, as a guidefor the adjustment of or spout passage having a constricted portion"about midway of said passage, as clearly represented in Figure 4,although these plates may be of any design for varying the contour ofthe feed passage according to the particular conditions as to materialor operation.

' The plate33 is mounted within a yoke the ends 'of which are pivotallyconnected, at 5|, to

the arms ofa U-shaped lever 52, the sides of which are pivoted, at 53,to a pair of upright; frame pieces 54 rigidly secured at 55 to a pair ofarms 58 formed as projections from the plate 34 (see Figure 4) One armof the lever frame 52 is'extended to provide an operating handle portion58 which is fitted with a bolt 80 having a sliding connectionwith a rodorlink 62 pivotally suspended from 9. lug 83 onthe under face of theplate 34, said boltjll also having a clamp nut 84 to secure the lever 52in any adjusted position. To retain the\plate 33 in continuouslyhorizontal position, a parallel-motion link 65 is provided, connectingthe yoke 50 with one of the upright pieces 54. r

the link connection 84, the upper end of which is provided with a pin orbolt 98 and clamping handle element I00 for securing said connection atany desired point along said slot 96, thereby correspondingly adjustingthe reciprocating drive action to the spout assembly and hence theextent of movement imparted thereto.

For any given size of hopper and rate of drive from the motor, thefeeding action may also be varied by adjustment of the plate or traymember 33 by means of the handle extension 58 to secure the properelevation of this tray member with reference to the lower edges of theplates 43, i. e., to obtain the desired size of feed apertures .betweensaid plates and the tray 33, and this adjustment is secured bytightening of the nut 84 to clamp the lever frame 52 to the rod or link62.

The design of hopper 24 is that best adapted to provide a maximumcapacity in a minimum of space, and having'vertical ends to preventclinging of the material thereto, and sides of sufficiently steep slopeto direct the material to the operating zone of the agitating device.The type of agitating means shown effects movement from both ends of thehopper toward the middle, so that the material is continuously fed intothe space over the feed spout, and the thrusts thus produced by theagitating means upon the material are thereby balanced. Any form orshape of. hopper, as well as specific type of agitating devices, may ofcoursebe used insofaras the improved action of the metering and feedingmeans is concerned. Naturally, also the provision for 45 within the feedhopper is filled, the material therein being supported by the ,tray 33.The

vspout movement produces a wiping action of the material within thespout (at the level of the lower edges of the plates 43) upon thematerial supported by the tray 33, resulting in some material beingdischarged from the spout beneath the edge of one of the plates 43 atthe end of each stroke of the spout. At the same time each stroke of thespout produces some agitation of the material therein, and hence thecombined action of the spiral agitating means and the motion of thespout results in complete agitation of the material from points well upwithin the hopper and continuously on down to the discharge points ofthe spout.

Referring to Figure 9, it will be noted that the height, but also forproviding a multiple feed outlet arrangement to afford increaseddelivery capacity for a given installation, and this also provides adesirablesafety factor under some conditions'of operation.

Many minor changes are, of course, possible and desirable for adaptingthe improved construction to meet varying conditions of operation,

and while I have herein shown and described one practical and efflcientform of apparatus forembodying the various features ofv improvement, Idesire to be'understood as reserving the right to make all the changesand modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Apparatus for feeding dry materials comprising a container forholding a supply of the material passing through the spout is supportedby the tray 33, and the reciprocation of the spout, moving its loweredges through the paths indicated by the arrows, gradually dischargesmaterial at the points 43, thereby loading the ends of crowding thematerial off the ends of the tray as the feeding action of the spoutcontinues. As the feeding operation thus becomes established, the actionof the material within the spout as it is swept over the material ,onthe tray maybe likened to the action taking place between amultiple-layer-structure, such as the leaves of a book lying fiat upon atable, when given a sidewise thrust, thereby producing a gliding actionof the leaves upon each other; 'i. e., in a somewhat similar fashion thelayers of material below the lower edges of the feed plates l3 arepushed alternately to and fro with gradually diminishing effect from topto bottom of the layers, and the material thereby smoothed out into auniform state or consistency while it is at the same time crowded inthe' direction of the ends of the tray and finally off the end edges insubstantially equal increments as efiected by the uniform feedingmovement of the spout, which is continuously producing a stream orribbon of the material of substantially uniform consistency or density.

By this method of continuous agitation of the material, as well ascontinuous smoothing of the the tray 33 as shown, and resulting ingradually material and having a discharge passage, fixed supportingmeans, a material supporting mem-. ber carried by said fixed supportingmeans below said passage in the path of the material flow, feeding meansoperative to produce horizontal reciprocating movement of said flow withreference to the material lodged on said supporting member and therebyeffecting intermittent discharge of the material off the edges thereof,and means including parallel motion linkage connected wtih said fixedsupporting means and also operatively connected with said materialsupporting member for varying the elevation of said supporting memberwhile maintaining the same in continuously horizontal position andthereby varying the discharge rate of the material.

2. Apparatus-for feeding dry materials com prising a container forholding a supply of the material and having a discharge passage, amaterial supportingmember below said passage in the path of the materialflow, feeding means operative to produce a horizontal reciprocatingmovement of said flow with reference to the material lodged on saidsupporting member and apparent that soft, tenacious or fluffy materialsmay be efiiciently handled in such a manner as to produce an even,regular, and uniform discharge flow whichis not possible with the usualmethods of feeding materials having the clinging properties of carbon,hydrated lime, etc.

- It is, of course, obvious that any desired change iii'the feed rate,for any given installation, may

' be readily made by either adjusting the elevation of the tray 33, orby re-setting the adjustment of the link 83 along the graduated slot 96by means joints, a substantially constant knife-edge relation beingmaintained by the spring, supporting means as shown.

It may. also be noted thatthe illustrated assembly, including the typeof hopper shown, is adapted not only for ample storage capacity at lowthereby effecting intermittent discharge of the material off theopposite edges of said member. and an automatically adjustable shoedevice confining the discharge of the material from the feeding means tomovements in the direction of said opposite edges of the supportingmember.

3. In apparatus for feeding dry materials, a feeding device comprising apair of oscillatory plates provided with means for pivotally supportingthe plates in spaced relation for passage of the material between them,a material supporting member below said plates, knife-edge bearingstructures for the upper edges of said plates, yielding supporting meansfor maintaining said plate edges in engaged relation to said structures,and means for oscillating said plates sliding engagement with the sideedges'of said first plates and reciprocated in unison therewith forconfining said material to the passage between said plates.

motion linkage connected with said fixed sup-,

porting means and also operatively connected with said adjustablesupporting member for varying the elevation of said supporting memberwhile maintaining the same in continuously horizontal position andthereby also varying the discharge rate of the material, and meansreciprocated in unison with said oscillating motion for confining saidmaterial to the passage between said plates. I

'6. Apparatus for feeding dry materials, comprising a container forholding a supply of the material and having a bottom discharge outlet, apair of oscillatory plates having their upper edges, pivotally engagedwith opposite sides of said outlet, plate members maintained in yieldingengagement with the side edges of said first plates, means for impartingoscillating movement to said first plates for producing a feedingmovement of the material through the passage between said plates andmaterial receiving and supporting means beneath said passage.

7. Apparatus for feeding dry materials, comprising a container forholding a supply of the material and having a bottom discharge outlet, apair of oscillatory plates having their upper edges in pivotalengagement with opposite sides of said outlet, plate members engagingthe side edges of said first plates, means connecting said oscillatoryplates in pivotal relation to said plate members and also maintainingthe latter in yielding sliding engagement with said oscillatory plates,means for oscillating said first plates for producing a feeding movementof the material through the passage between said plates and materialreceiving and supporting means beneath said passage.

8. Apparatus for feeding dry materials, comprising a container forholding a supply of the material and having a bottom discharge outlet, apair of oscillatory plates having their upper edges in pivotalengagement with opposite sides of said outlet, plate members engagingthe side edges of said first plates, suspension means pivotallyconnecting said plate members and said oscillatory plates and supportingthe latter in pivotal relation to said outlet, and also having means formaintaining said plate members in yielding sliding engagement with saidoscillatory plates, means for imparting oscillating movement to saidfirst plates for effecting a feeding movement of the material throughthe passage between said plates and material receiving and supportingmeans beneath said passage.

. 9. Apparatus for feeding dry materials, comprising a container forholding a supply of the material and having a bottom discharge outlet, amaterial-supporting member below said outlet in the path of the materialflow, feeding means operative to produce a horizontal reciprocatingmovement of the material flow with reference to the material lodged onsaid supporting member and thereby effecting intermittent discharge ofthe material off the opposite ends of said member, and a shoe deviceslidingly supported by said supporting member in automaticallytelescoping relation to said feeding means for confining the dischargeof the material therefrom to movements in the direction of the oppositeends of the supporting member.

10. Apparatus for feeding dry materials, comprising a container forholding a supply of the material and having a bottom discharge outlet, avertically adjustable material-supporting member below said outlet inthe path of the material flow, feeding means operative to produce ahorizontal reciprocating movement of the material fiow with reference tothe material lodged' on said supporting member and thereby producingintermittent discharge of the material off the opposite ends of saidmember, and a shoe device carried by said supporting member and actingto confine the discharge of the material therefrom to movements in thedirection of the opposite ends of said supporting member.

11. Apparatus for feeding dry materials, comprising a container forholding a supply of the material and having a bottom discharge outlet,means comprising a pair of spaced oscillatory plates having side platesin sliding engagement with the side edges ofsaid first plates andforming a spout structure in discharge relation to said outlet, meansfor oscillating said spout structure to effect feeding movement of thematerial therethrough, a horizontal plate for intercepting the materialbelow said spout structure, and a shoe device carried by said horizontalplate in telescoping relation to said. spout structure for confining thematerial on said horizontal plate to dischargemovements in the directionof the opposite ends of the horizontal plate, said shoe device having atransverse bar in sliding engagement with said side plates and formingapartition across the lower end of said spout structure.

ELMER E. HARPlilR.

